Posts Tagged: professional development

UC Berkeley NOW Conference supports staff advancement

For four years, UC Berkeley has been opening its doors for all UC staff to attend the Next Opportunity at Work Conference (NOW). NOW is an all-day conference designed to support UC staff with career and professional development through inspiring keynote speakers, workshops, networking connections with peers, and career planning resources. The June 2023 conference was held in person at the Oakland Marriott City Center. Three UC ANR staff members accepted reimbursements from Learning & Development to attend the conference.

Conference provides coaching, networking opportunities

“The NOW coaching and conference gave me clarity about my career path and a concrete plan for my next steps,” said Tracy Celio, Master Gardener Program coordinator for Amador and El Dorado counties.

“The NOW Conference was an opportunity to mingle with staff from other UC campuses and share experiences. My favorite part was the 1:1 talent acquisition coaching session included with the registration. I got great tips on updating my resume and a contact in UC recruiting,” said Katherine Uhde, Master Gardener Program coordinator for Santa Clara County

 

“The main thing that I took away from the NOW 2023 Conference was the importance of having purpose in what you do," said Katie Kilbane of Academic Human Resources. "For me, it emphasized the importance of effective communication from the very beginning of the hiring process through onboarding.

"By having this purpose, it allows for me to be a better resource for not only the potential employee or the onboarding employee, but for my department as well.” 

Look for announcements for the NOW Conference during early spring 2024 via Learning & Development email announcements, the Employee News, and the calendar on the L&D landing page.

Community Education Specialist Self-Assessment Tool designed for nutrition programs

To be successful, CalFresh Healthy Living, UCCE (CFHL, UCCE) community education staff require a wide variety of skills and expertise in topics ranging from community nutrition, classroom management, and growing food, to conducting needs assessments and youth and community engagement. Onboarding new staff or supporting the professional development of experienced educators can be challenging since new staff may not be fully aware of the skills required, and experienced staff may not be fully aware of areas where growth and development are needed.

To address these issues, we convened a working group of CFHL, UC and CFHL, UCCE staff and academics from across the state to develop the Community Education Specialist Self-Assessment Tool (CESSAT). The CESSAT is a tool for supervisors to use in collaboration with community educators to self-evaluate current knowledge and skills and identify areas for professional development. This tool can be used with new hires and/or experienced educators to: 

1) identify gaps in knowledge and skills and prioritize training accordingly

2) identify areas where growth or development is needed

3) inform the probationary and/or performance review process

4) identify opportunities for peer-to-peer support and informal mentoring

Over the course of 16 months, the workgroup met to review existing tools for community and nutrition educators, develop the skill and competency areas the tool should cover, draft self- assessment questions for each skill area, and divide skill areas between entry level and advanced. Once we had a complete working draft, we sent the CESSAT to subject matter experts in each of the skill areas for review and feedback. The current draft of the CESSAT reflects the input received from multiple partners and stakeholders.

We launched the CESSAT during a Feb. 24, 2022, webinar with CFHL, UCCE supervisors, managers and academics. We will collect feedback from this cohort of professionals as well as other program supervisors over the next six months. We plan to revise the CESSAT as needed to reflect the evolving nature of community education competencies and as additional skill areas are requested.

The CESSAT, if used broadly, can support the development of a highly skilled workforce, and help to identify training needs across the state. Our goal is that the CESSAT will support supervisors with access to a targeted self-assessment that they can use with new and experienced educators to support the training and development needs of every CalFresh Healthy Living program.

To access the CESSAT, click on this link: https://ucdavis.co1.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_2tyQ5AeYoaLpbFk. You will be asked for your contact information so that we can follow-up with a short feedback survey. 

L&D - Communicating science, diversity, Big Dig Day, giving and receiving feedback

Image by Pixabay

ANR Learning & Development Webpage
Past webinar recordings

EXTENSION DELIVERY

Hard Times, Hard Questions: Communicating science with difficult people
Thursday, April 15, 2021
Noon - 12:30 pm

With Peggy G. Lemaux, Ph.D.
Department of Plant and Microbial Biology, UC Berkeley

Learn tools that will 

• Engage the science-skeptic members of your audience
• Make you relatable to them
• Have your message resonate

Some simple suggestions  

• Know your audience
• Listen to their concerns and stay calm
• Make it relevant
• Keep it simple; use analogies and avoid jargon
• Encourage questions; answer factually

Zoom access:
https://ucanr.zoom.us/j/751701428?pwd=Q1ZrbUtoQVJwMXJVRkQydUlwNytJQT09
Password: 4Learning | +1 669 900 6833 | Webinar ID: 751 701 428

Innovation Skill-Building Experience (Q2, Session 1)
April 20, 2021
10:30 a.m. - 12:30 p.m.

For Extension Foundation Members Only.
Members can register here.

April 20, 2021
April 27, 2021
May 4, 2021
May 11, 2021

Do you have a project idea that needs incubation, innovation and ways to get to implementation and impact faster? Are you looking to learn about design thinking and lean experimentation combined with Cooperative Extension's best practices for solving important community issues? Are you interested in becoming an Innovation Facilitator/Coach for future Impact Collaborative events and to support your institution's teams and teams across the nation? Read more here.

Learning to Teach Online (LinkedIn Learning)
Staff author Oliver Schinkten draws the connections between high-quality instruction and online education. He provides a framework for creating a digital classroom and guidance to get students interacting with the course material, the instructor, and each other. Collaboration is the key to making the learning experience more dynamic. Course link.

For your free Linkedin Learning account, contact help@ucanr.edu.

Diversity - Equity - Inclusion

Understanding Unconscious Bias: Awareness, knowledge and competency development
Various dates – see below.
Register for a session now! - Register early because each session is limited to 35 participants!

Bias, in its most simplistic definition, is having a preference for one thing over another. Also, biases come into play in our impressions and judgment of people, especially those whose identities and experiences are different from our own.

Workshop leaders are Mikael Villalobos, associate chief diversity officer in the Office for Diversity, Equity and Inclusion at UC Davis, and Eric Sanchez, diversity and inclusion educator, UC Davis.

Who should attend: Those who have not participated in this type of learning are encouraged to register. Priority will be given to people who have not had previous access to this learning topic. There will be a waiting list for those who are interested but regularly engage with bias-related topics.

Objectives: We will explore how we make snap judgments about people by understanding our socialization that informs our biases.

Participants will be introduced to theory and language in understanding implicit and explicit bias.

Using personal reflection, experiential exercises and case studies, participants will gain greater awareness when they engage in bias and gain essential knowledge and skills (tools) in how they recognize and mitigate biases in both personal and professional domains.

By participating in one of these workshops, you have the opportunity to support the ANR Strategic Plan 2020-2025 goal to develop an inclusive and equitable workplace, and employ a workforce that reflects the racial, ethnic, and gender diversity of California.

Choose one session
Each of the following two-hour workshops will be tailored to job roles as indicated below but you are welcome to sign up for the session that fits best with your schedule.

People who deliver programs to clientele - Including but not limited to academic coordinators, UCCE advisors, UCCE specialists, community educators, CE field workers, REC and staff research associates.
Wednesday, April 7, 9-11 a.m.
Tuesday, June 1, 9-11 a.m.
Monday, June 7, 10 a.m.-noon

People who work with volunteers - Including but not limited to volunteer coordinators and managers
Monday, May 10, 10 a.m.-noon

People who support to others in ANR - Including but not limited to administrative and support staff
Thursday, May 20, 10 a.m.-Noon

Cancellation: Participants must notify us of cancellations in writing to ANR Program Support at least one week prior to the session for which they're registered.

Registration & Logistics: ANR Program Support or call (530) 750-1361

Asian Pacific Heritage Month
May 2021 – Every Tuesday, 3-4 p.m.

Register here.

May 4– The Asian Pacific Identity: Experiences and Stories
May 11 – Asian Pacific Farmers in California: Past and Present
May 18 – Violence in Asian Pacific Communities: Exclusion, Internment, and Hate Crimes
May 25 – Supporting Our Friends and Colleagues: Bystander Intervention Training

Thank you to the Planning Team
Sibani Bose, Surendra Dara, Charles Go, Pam Kan-Rice, Janice Kao, Dohee Kim, Vikram Koundinya
Elaine Lander, Tunyalee Martin, Yu Meng, Stephanie Parreira, Devii Rao, Marisa Tsai, Sua Vang

Racial Equity Capacity Building Workshops
Read more here.

The Wallace Center's Food Systems Leadership Network is excited to partner with the Interaction Institute for Social Change's Curtis Ogden and Aba Taylor to design and deliver two capacity building workshops and customized coaching for network members to operationalize racial equity and anti-racism in their organizations and their program work.

These trainings are part of the FSLN's CORE Project to embed racial equity into its framework for systems change; learn more on the CORE webpage here.The FFRJW Training is a four-part, virtual workshop for 12 food systems leaders who are actively engaged in facilitating discussions around racial equity that lead to impactful action. Applications are due April 12 and participants will be notified by April 16. Space is limited to 12 FSLN members. Click to read more.

Building support

Big Dig Day & Social Media: Strategies for success
Wednesday, April 28, 2021
10 - 10:45 a.m.

Join Emily Delk, director of annual giving, and Dora Garay, social media strategist, as they share how to make the most of UC ANR's Big Dig Day (June 4, 2021) giving campaign to raise money for your program. You will learn how to plan your campaign, including themes, tools and timelines. Together we will learn the ins and outs of using social media to promote your campaign—from the basics of each platform to more advanced strategies to expand your reach. Zoom access:

https://ucanr.zoom.us/j/751701428?pwd=Q1ZrbUtoQVJwMXJVRkQydUlwNytJQT09
Password: 4Learning | +1 669 900 6833 | Webinar ID: 751 701 428

Proposal Development and Proposal Process
Wednesday, April 28, 2021
3 – 4 p.m.

Learn about the steps involved in the proposal submissions process from developing your idea to submission.Vanity Campbell and Kendra Rose will go over identifying funding opportunities, developing the project concept, building collaborative teams, drafting the proposal, submitting to Office of Contracts and Grants for review, and submission to the sponsor. Zoom access:

https://ucanr.zoom.us/j/751701428?pwd=Q1ZrbUtoQVJwMXJVRkQydUlwNytJQT09
Password: 4Learning | +1 669 900 6833 | Webinar ID: 751 701 428

Office, team and personal management

Join Mark Bell and Jodi Azulai to discuss key takeaways from three short videos that feature giving and receiving feedback. The objective is to help lighten this sometimes difficult process. Come ready to change your mind and lighten the load! Join Zoom meeting:

https://ucanr.zoom.us/j/94900422680?pwd=SzFGbGtwdUpXVHlMT3o5UHhIdllMQT09 | Meeting ID: 949 0042 2680 | Passcode: 2Lighten | One tap mobile+16699006833,,94900422680# US (San Jose) or +12532158782,,94900422680# US (Tacoma)

Collaborative Facilitation Advanced Workshop Series - Advanced
Apply here.

Dates: Tuesdays - April 27- May 11, 2021
2 hours/session (virtual)

Limited to 24 participants. Your application will be reviewed and you will be notified about your participation. Preference will be given to participants who have previous learning or experience in meeting facilitation.

This course is designed for people who have already learned basic meeting facilitation. It is open to all UC ANR academic and staff employees, including statewide program volunteers.

Collaborations and group processes are complex, dynamic and unpredictable. Successful processes are based on shared understanding and learning, and work towards common goals. However, we know that this doesn't always happen. Then what?

Collaborative facilitation and group process tools support success, allowing everyone to feel heard and to contribute. Whether you have a lead facilitator role or are a group participant, join us in learning appropriate and applicable facilitation tools to use before, during and after your meetings.

This course will cover the following topics:

Session I - review and include building teams to “compete” for the correct responses to challenges with meetings.
Session II - prevention and intervention tools.
Session III - dealing with difficult people, including ourselves.
Session IV - tools to manage conflicts combining all the tools you have learned and experienced.
Apply here.

The Six Morning Habits of High Performers Course Link (LinkedIn Learning)
Learn the six habits of the most successful people in history. Hal Elrod describes how they changed his life—and how they can change yours, too—in this course adapted from the podcast How to Be Awesome at Your Job. Elrod is one of the highest rated keynote speakers in America, creator of one of the fastest growing and most engaged online communities in existence, and author of one of the bestselling books in the world, The Miracle Morning. For your free Linkedin Learning account, contact help@ucanr.edu

Critical Thinking Course Link (LinkedIn Learning)
By focusing on root-cause issues critical thinking helps you avoid future problems that can result from your actions. In this course, leadership trainer and expert Mike Figliuolo outlines a series of techniques to help you develop your critical thinking skills. He reveals how to define the problem you're trying to solve and then provides a number of critical thinking tools such as blowing up the business, asking the 5 whys and the 7 so whats. Read more here.

Career Management Toolkit (UC Davis)
Whether you are on a specific career path or considering new options, perhaps the UC Davis Career Management Toolkit will inspire you to develop your talents and engage them. The best person to manage your career is you!

Learning about yourself and understanding your interests, personality, skills and values are fundamental to engaging your work in meaningful ways.

Effective strategies for career exploration can help you identify a satisfying career and accelerate … Read more here.

 

Credits:
Image by kdbcms from Pixabay
Image by John Hain from Pixabay
Image: Image by Scottslm from Pixabay

Everyone can learn something new

ANR Learning & Development
Office: 530.750.1239
jlazulai@ucanr.edu

 

 

Nominations open for UC Women's Initiative for Professional Development until Oct. 14

Nominations are now open until 11:59 p.m., Oct. 14, 2020, for the 2021 UC Women's Initiative for Professional Development (UC WI). 

As in the past, ANR will be sponsoring women academics and staff to participate in the 2021 program. UC WI is committed to enabling the full participation, success and advancement of woman-identified professionals at the University. The program is open to all who support and are committed to this mission. 

The UCWI program is designed to:

• Cultivate a professional network that spans the UC system
• Provide access to top UC leaders — women and men — to learn about their diverse leadership approaches and journeys
• Strengthen skills and confidence through hands-on practice with a range of tools in the areas of: 
• Professional development and impact
• Strategic relationship building
• Developing and delivering a compelling narrative regarding one's professional accomplishments and vision
• Negotiating at work
• Peer coaching

The ideal participant:

• Is mid-career faculty, staff or academic employee
• Has demonstrated potential for advancement
• Supports woman-identified professionals and seeks to learn concepts that improve their effectiveness at work and hear about the career journeys of established UC leade

The schedule - four online sessions during:

• January-March 2021, or 
• April – June 2021
• For exact cohort dates/workshop sessions, see last 3 pages of this document.

Program overview:

Six cohorts of 30 participants each with representatives from every UC location, come together for interactive sessions jointly led by a Coro Northern California facilitator and a UC Facilitator. UC facilitators are past graduates of the program who share their experience and expertise and add a UC perspective. The final session of each cohort program will be a combined capstone event that allows participants to make systemwide connections.

Nomination instructions

Please use this nomination form.

1. Nominate someone, yourself, or more than one person.

• You can nominate more than one person without having to fill out a new form each time. 

2. A letter of recommendation is suggested but not required. 
3. Combine – if there are multiple letters of recommendation – into a single PDF.
4. When prompted for an FAU account – enter “999”

• Once candidates are selected the Learning & Development Coordinator will send the proper accounting information.

If you have additional files, please send them to ucwomensinitiative@ucop.edu.

If you are interested in participating in this program, please talk to your supervisor. Supervisors are asked to send in nominations by close of business October 14th, 2020. Late or incomplete nominations will not be considered.

The program is a collaboration between the UC Systemwide Advisory Committee on the Status of Women and UC Human Resources, and is delivered by CORO, a nonprofit leadership-development organization that has worked with UC for the past decade. UC President Napolitano supports and partially funds the program. ANR will cover registration fees and reimburse travel expenses and half the lodging for those selected.

Testimonials

Dawn Kooyumjian, UCCE Master Gardener Program coordinator, Alameda and Contra Costa counties:

"The UCWI was much more than I expected. Rather than simply being something like "10 Tips for Success" the format of the course combined readings, presentations, deep thought, and time to reflect and share with other participants in a way that I found meaningful and useful both professionally and personally."

Vanity Campbell, proposal development coordinator, Office of Contracts & Grants:

"The program is a truly exceptional way to get to know and grow with other University of California professionals from across the system….Through these personal connections, I built upon and extended my professional network – creating and leveraging opportunities for both personal and professional growth."

Wendi Gosliner, project scientist, Nutrition Policy Institute:

"I found the program to be … a practical experience in which I gained new tools to help me advance professionally, and an overall inspiring educational journey that left me feeling like we each have the ability and the power to build and cultivate the relationships and supports needed to achieve our professional goals."

Mary Ciricillo, Director of 4-H Foundation:

"UCWI enabled me to think more broadly about my career …. it gave me the tools to expand upon and improve my skillsets in the workplace. I would highly recommend this conference to women looking to strengthen their performance in their current position as well as those who have long term aspirations to elevate their career."

If you have questions about the program, please contact Jodi Azulai.

 

Nominations open for UC Women’s Initiative until Oct. 14

Nominations are now open for the 2021 UC Women's Initiative for Professional Development (UC WI). Please submit nominations by Oct. 14, 2020.

As in the past, ANR will be sponsoring women academics and staff to participate in the 2021 program. UC WI is committed to enabling the full participation, success and advancement of woman-identified professionals at the University. The program is open to all who support and are committed to this mission.

The program is designed to

• Cultivate a professional network that spans the UC system
• Provide access to top UC leaders — women and men — to learn about their diverse leadership approaches and journeys
• Strengthen skills and confidence through hands-on practice with a range of tools in the areas of:
• Professional development and impact
• Strategic relationship building
• Developing and delivering a compelling narrative regarding one's professional accomplishments and vision
• Negotiating at work
• Peer coaching

The ideal participant:

• Is mid-career faculty, staff or academic employee
• Has demonstrated potential for advancement
• Supports woman-identified professionals and seeks to learn concepts that improve their effectiveness at work and hear about the career journeys of established UC leade

Selected candidates will participate in a cohort that meets for four online sessions during: 

• January-March 2021, or
• April – June 2021
• For exact cohort dates/workshop sessions, see last 3 pages of this document.

Program overview:

Six cohorts of 30 participants each with representatives from every UC location, come together for interactive sessions jointly led by a Coro Northern California facilitator and a UC Facilitator. UC facilitators are past graduates of the program who share their experience and expertise and add a UC perspective. The final session of each cohort program will be a combined capstone event that allows participants to make systemwide connections.

Nomination instructions

Please use the nomination form at https://www.surveygizmo.com/s3/5759587/2020-2021-UC-WI-Nomination-Form.

1. Nominate someone, yourself, or more than one person.
   • You can nominate more than one person without having to fill out a new form each time.
2. A letter of recommendation is suggested but not required.
3. Combine – if there are multiple letters of recommendation – into a single PDF.
4. When prompted foranFAU account – enter “999”
   • Once candidates are selected the Learning & Development Coordinator will send the proper accounting information.

If you have additional files, please send them to ucwomensinitiative@ucop.edu. 

If you are interested in participating in this program, please talk to your supervisor. Supervisors are asked to send in nominations by 11:59 p.m. on Oct. 14, 2020. Late or incomplete nominations will not be considered. 

The program is a collaboration between the UC Systemwide Advisory Committee on the Status of Women and UC Human Resources, and is delivered by CORO, a nonprofit leadership-development organization that has worked with UC for the past decade. UC President Napolitano supports and partially funds the program. ANR will cover registration fees and reimburse travel expenses and half the lodging for those selected.

If you have questions about the program, please contact Jodi Azulai.

 

 

 

 

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